IOWA, Home of the Clarkes

How to Make an iPod shuffle

How do you convert a 20GB iPod into an iPod shuffle do you ask?

Heres how:
Step One: Purchase said iPod and own it until the warranty runs out
Step Two: Drop it.
Step Three: Try to decifer the shuffle setting through the cracked screen.

Three easy steps can get you closer to that oversized shuffle you have always wanted. I guess it does make a decent portable data storage device as well.
*Sigh*

Crazy Month

After a crazy month of moving into the new facility and figuring out new systems and equipment, I have time to breath and time to post. So stop yer complaining Mrs. Jansma. ;)

We got through the Christmas season with out too many bumbs. Chloe had fun opening presents and now has a "baby" that she drags all over the house. It has been real fun to see her personality emerge and to slowly understand what makes her tick. She has been a total blessing to Julie and I. Speaking of blessings, Julie is doing well with the pregnancy. She is due in May and is really starting to show. She looks absolutely beautiful. We know now that we will be welcoming a boy into the world and currently the only child that could pass on the Clarke name. Besides that, we are just getting settled into the new church facility and dream of a day when things are back to "normal". Oh, and my beard is coming along nicely.
-Adam

Another morning at Taraccinos

Place: Taraccinos Coffee
Time: 7:30am
Current Music: Gnarls Barkley

So, I've been breaking up my work hours and getting a lot of work done I might add by spending my mornings in the local coffee house named Taraccinos. Well, part of the ambiance of the place includes these two yahoos. Very cool guys who occasionally bring me espresso shots. Try the Wayward Alpine, it's delicious.

Nuff Said

Thanks to Derek and Kelli, I now am able to catch up on all those tv shows that I don't have time to watch during the week.
If you have a moment to waste, check out this web-goodness
peekvid.com

Christmas is coming...

Place: office
Time: 2:40pm
Current Music: Jimmy Eat World: Futures

Christmas is coming although you wouldn't know it by the temperatures outside. I was running around with a t-shirt between the two offices today. Speaking of offices, we are preparing to move to the new facility here in a couple weeks. As you can see over my shoulder, I have already begun boxing up books, music and odds and ends. Offically, we will be in the new office on January 7th. Crazy. I am still putting in the crazy hours for this week but plan on taking the week after Christmas off to spend with my family before the Move and training starts in the new facility. We are in the midst of a new site rollout, new print materials for the move, Christmas and all the training and moving needed to start services in the new facility. Needless to say, I think this is one of the busiest Christmas seasons of my entire life.
Have a Merry Christmas and may God bless you in this season.

A new leaf

Time: 6:51am
Place: Office
Current Music: Sufjan Stevens Christmas

Currently I am at work. I came in early this morning and need a quick break. I decided that I would try a little different format for the blog. I will still put up pictures of the fam and all but I felt a need to do a little more journaling and I thought that I would make use of the handy camera built into my macbook pro. So here I am. Listening to Sufjan Stevens Christmas and feeling a little worn down. Christmas season has become a tough season for me and I don't think it will be more so than this year. As part of my job I in charge of putting together the Christmas services. This is crazy enough to begin but this year we are moving into our New Facility. For the past 7 years our church has met in Northview Middle School. It's been a long journey to a facility but the end is in sight. It's just going to take a lot of hours to make the transition. Thus my early hour this morning and many more to come.

I have been feeling a bit retrospective lately as well. I'm not sure if it's the Christmas season or the fact that I just missed my 10 year class reunion. But I have been thinking a lot about old friendships and can't help but wonder where those people wound up. Actually, I did get in touch with an old friend that I haven't seen in 10 years. We spent quite a bit of time chatting on the phone the other night and I'm sure we will do so for many more conversations. It's not easy catching someone up with 7-10 years of your life. I even popped out my yearbooks and looked through them. It was interesting to see the comments people wrote. Don't get me wrong. I have NO complaints with the journey I've taken. I have a wonderful family and a loving and wonderful wife. It's just that you get so busy in your life that 10 years can pass without pondering what happened to others and what impact they had on your life that made you who you are today. So this goes out to all those who helped shape me as an individual. Merry Christmas.

Day of the Ninja

That's right boys and girls. Today is Day of the Ninja. The one day of the year that you can wrap a black tshirt around your head, jump down from high places and throw those Christmas cookies shaped like stars. So let your inner Ninja out. That is until you wife threatens to make you sleep on the couch.
www.ninjaday.com

Home for the Holidays

Wow,
I can't believe that it has taken so long to get this thing updated. Things have been pretty busy around the Clarke household. I have been working a lot on freelance and had a spell there where I hardly slept. My job at the church is going well and we are getting ready to make the jump into the new facility. This week the carpet is being laid and alot more finishing work is being done. Here are a few photos from our thanksgiving. We spent the day at Julie's brother's house near Alleman.

This is a picture of Chloe and her cousin Tobias. They are wearing non-authentic Native American headresses. Nanna made these for the kids and told them how the Native Americans helped the pilgrims survive the winter. We didn't tell them how those same Pilgrims stole their land and put them on reservations. That will have to wait until they're a little older. ;)